Don't let competitors define your brand
The October edition of the Business Review USA is now live!
By: Amy Morin
If you don't carefully define and market your brand, you could be making a costly business make.
An unclear or ill-defined brand gives your competitor an opportunity to define your brand for you. Take action to ensure that you're the one who defines your brand.
Be Proactive in Releasing News
Your competitors are likely to release information and stories that can hurt your brand.
Be proactive so you can spread the word first and get the information you want about your brand out there. Otherwise, you risk allowing your competitor to create the headline.
If your competitor sells twice as much of a product than you do, your competitor's headline might read, "Our brand beats the competitor 2 to 1." However, your headline might be "Our brand gained 50 percent of the marketplace in just one year."
It's all about the way that the story gets spun.
Therefore, it's important to be proactive in ensuring that you spread the news you want about your brand before the competitor does.
Release information that focuses on the positive aspects of your business and your brand's popularity.
Maximize your strengths and make sure your audience is hearing what you have to say about your product, not what your competitor says.
Market to Your Target Audience
Clearly define your target audience and market your brand to that audience. If you do it well, your audience will respond well, despite what the competition says about your brand.
Make your social media efforts match the tone you want to set for your business. This will ensure that your customers view your brand as authentic and trustworthy. When your customers trust you, they'll care less what the competition says about you.
The goal should be to build brand loyalty.
When customers grow to truly love your brand, they'll become loyal followers who will choose your products over the competition.
Practice the Best Customer Service
Excellent customer service skills can help build a positive reputation for your brand.
Respond to customer's needs in a timely fashion. Develop a plan to respond to customer complaints and concerns as well so that you can maintain a positive reputation.
Listen to what your customers have to say.
Find out what their needs are and what they want from your brand. You'll learn a lot about what they think about your brand and it will help ensure that you're meeting their expectations.
Focus on What Sets You Apart
Market the reasons why customers should buy from you instead of the competition. Make it clear what sets your brand apart from the competition.
If you're first to highlight how your brand differs from other brands, customers will see it as a strength. Don't wait until your customers hear what the competition has to say.
Focus on this and show your customers why your brand is better.
Showing your customers how you are different from the competition can help ensure you define your brand.
About the Author: Amy Morin writes about psychology, parenting, and topics such as how to remove personal informationfrom public records.
